New designs and technology are not always better - Yorkshire Post Letters
From: Otto Inglis, Crossgates, Fife.
We usually assume that new designs and new technology are better. Repairing a toilet cistern at the weekend reminded me that this is not always the case.
When I found the cistern needed a new inflow valve, I was able to pick up an identical one from Screwfix. The new plastic float valve will probably last just a few years, same as its predecessor.
The older simpler type of inflow valve with a float ball on the end of a long arm, can last for 50 years or longer, which is obviously cheaper in the long run, not least as you won’t need several visits by plumbers to replace short-lived valves.
Another example of this is the replacement of British bayonet fittings for light bulbs with European screw fittings. You will never need a pair of pliers to remove the metal part of a broken British style bulb from its mounting.
Electric cars which are considerably heavier, generate much greater road-damaging torque and whose fires are much harder to put out than traditional cars are another example of this.
Don’t assume that newer is always better. Sometimes it is considerably worse, and it is politics rather than consumer benefits driving its adoption.